couric is next. >> couric: tonight, he's considered one of the most powerful men in the world, now frenchman who heads the i.m.f. is in a new york city jail charged with attempted rape. also tonight. "endeavour's" final mission, the shuttle lifts off with mark kelly in command and his wounded wife congress woman gabrielle giffords watching from a wheelchair. the donald takes himself out of the presidential race before he was ever in. and steve hartman's "assignment america." her four decade long vigil for an american hero has come to an end. captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news world headquarters in new york, this is the "cbs evening news" with

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katie couric. >> couric: good evening, everyone, dominique strauss-kahn isn't a household name in the u.s. but "forbes" magazine calls him one of the 40 most powerful people in the world. he's head of the international monetary fund and in france, he was favored to be the next president. that is until he was arrested here in new york, accused of sexually assaulting. a hotel maid. it's sent shock waves through european financial markets and tonight michelle miller reports he's being held in without bail. >> reporter: he faces charges of rape, unlawful imprisonment and sexual assault all connected to an alleged attack on a 32-year- old chambermaid who entered to clean his penthouse hotel suite saturday afternoon. she later i.d. him in a lineup and authorities say they have d.n.a. evidence to back her story. >> he sexually assaulted her and attempted to forcibly rape her. when he was unsuccessful he

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forced her to perform oral sex. >> reporter: near lie five hours later police arrested him on a flight to paris ten minutes before takeoff. hotel security found out he was at the airport after calling him about a cell phone he left behind. >> that's not consistent with someone who was trying to conceal his whereabouts. this theory that he ran out of the hotel and to the airport is simply not true. >> reporter: but in denying bail judge melissa jackson called the multimillionaire a flight risk. >> when i hear your client was at j.f.k. airport about to board a flight, that raises some concerns. >> reporter: strauss-kahn has run the i.m.f. for nearly four years, guiding nations through the economic meltdown and most recently the european debt crisis. >> his leadership at the i.m.f. is at an end. it's especially sad because he leaves behind a tremendous professional legacy. >> reporter: in addition to being one of the world's prominent bankers, strauss-kahn was expected to run against and

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likely beat french president nicolas sarkozy next year. those ambitions were now almost certainly derailed. in court today, u.s. prosecutors said they were investigating at least one other similar case, likely an alleged sexual attack in 2002. on a french talk show, writer tristan banon claimed strauss- kahn assaulted her nine years ago. she never filed charges then but is considering them now. known as the great seducer, the twice divorced married father of four as has admitted infidelity, most recently an i.m.f. staffer in 2008. supporters say it was a consensual relationship. even his current wife, an american-born journalist, came to his defense in a statement she said: >> reporter: strauss-kahn will be held in a jail cell on rikers island, a far cry from the luxury hotel suite where the attack allegedly took place.

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if convicted, he faces five 25 years 25 years in prison. >> couric: meanwhile, up in orbit, the shuttle "endeavour" is closing in on the international space station. "endeavour's" 25th and final flight is also the next to last shuttle mission. the spacecraft thundered through low clouds at the kennedy space center in florida this morning. these images were captured by a passenger on a delta airlines flight from new york to west palm beach. before leaving, commander mark kelly left cards and flowers for his two daughters and his wife. she attended the launch, another milestone in her recovery from an assassination attempt in january. >> and liftoff! >> couric: with seven million pounds of thrust and a $2 billion payload on board, the shuttle "endeavour" was finally bound for space. but among estimated half million people on hand to bid

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"endeavour" safe journey, there was one spectator who was especially riveted. what was gabby's reaction to the launch? >> it was emotional and a sense of relief and excitement, it was beautiful. >> couric: giffords staff member was watching from the roof of the launch control center shielded from public view three miles from the pad. >> at the end she looked at me and said "good stuff. >> couric: giffords came here to the kennedy space senter two weeks ago when the launch was scrubbed due to a short circuit in the shuttle's engine compartment but carusone says her boss is handling the travel well. >> the doctors told us this trip would be a rehab trip for her because she would be not just moving around a lot but experiencing new things, meeting new people so she's having a great time. >> couric: now that "endeavour's" 16-day mission is under way, giffords will return

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to houston for more rehabilitation. the next big medical hurdle, putting back the piece of her skull that doctors removed to allow her brain to swell. what have doctors decided to do in terms of making her skull whole again? >> well, they've decided to use a fabricated segment as opposed to her original. they feel it's safer, cleaner and it's a better piece of... puzzle piece fitting in there if you can imagine that. >> couric: during my interview with mark kelly two weeks ago, he down played media reports that his wife's progress may have been overstated. >> i was told very early on this process that she's going to get worse. she's going to get worse in the next week and then worse in the next two weeks and she never did. she gets better all the time, day after day. >> couric: he told me he was looking forward to his trip into space, partially because of what he'll find when he returns.

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>> when i get back in a few weeks she's going to be noticeably different than when i left. py know that's the case so it's exciting to see the improvement day to day and week to week. it's really exciting. >> couric: kelly took giffords' wedding ring along the flight. she's wearing his in a chain around her neck. >> couric: now from astronauts to the astronomical national debt. the united states reached its borrowing limit of $14 trillion. that means the government can't borrow another penny until congress raises the debt limit and that's tied up in a political battle between republicans and democrats. in the meantime, the treasury will take steps to keep us from defaulting, dipping into federal pension funds. turning to presidential politics now, one thing republican donald trump is definitely not lacking is self-confidence. he said today he's sure he could win the republican nomination and defeat president obama but

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as jan crawford reports, in the season finale of his flirtation with the white house, trump said he's not fired up for a campaign. >> i will not be running for president as much as i'd like to. >> reporter: the from the beginning the question for donald trump was simple: is he serious? no one knew what to make of the big-talking billionaire who said things establishment candidates wouldn't touch. >> is there a muslim problem in new york? >> absolutely. absolutely. i don't notice swedish people knocking down the world trade center. >> reporter: but it was his focus on president obama's citizenship that got attention. >> there's something on that birth certificate that he doesn't like. >> oh, my god! >> reporter: but then obama played his own trump card. he finally released his full birth certificate showing he was in fact, born in hawaii. >> we do not have time for this kind of silliness. we've got better sufficient to do. >> reporter: days later at the annual white house correspondent's dinner the president made the boss of celebrity apprentice look like an apprentice himself.

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>> that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter. like did we fake the moon landing? ( laughter ) >> reporter: trump said today he oould be back on his t.v. show next season. analysts say his decision won't make much difference. >> i don't think it changes the way anyone was thinking because i don't think anyone honestly believed he was going to get in the race. >> reporter: trump is the second republican in two days to say he won't run. former arkansas governor muck huckabee. he could have been a serious challenger announced over the weekend he was skipping the race. so that leaves an unsettled republican field. we've got mitt romney, if newt gingrich, tim pawlenty but no really well-known names and they're facing a president who, as trump himself experienced, is willing to use his bully pulpit to play hard ball. katie? >> couric: jan crawford. jan, thank you. in other news, relations between the united states and pakistan are still strained over the u.s. raid on osama bin laden's

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compound. today senator john kerry, chairman of the foreign relations committee, met with pakistani leaders in islamabad but offered no apologies. both sides did pledge to work together in future operations and kerry said the pakistanis also agreed to return the tail section of that stealth helicopter that crashed during the raid. turning to libya, international war crimes prosecutor is seeking an arrest warrant for moammar qaddafi accusing him of killing civilians in libya. nato kept up the pressure on qaddafi's forces today with new air strikes in tripoli. in a "60 minutes" interview i spoke with defense secretary robert gates about the u.s. role in libya. are we at war with libya? >> the way i like to put it is in a standpoint with the united states we're involved in a limited kinetic action. if i were qaddafi's shoes i would think i was in a war. >> couric: why the semantics? >> well, i think that war

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connotes what is we've done in iraq and afghanistan. our role right now is actually very limited. it's basically a support role. >> couric: can you foresee any situation in which there will be u.s. boots on the ground in libya? >> no, the president has been very, very clear about that. >> couric: the regime in syria is killing civilians as well. should we have a no-fly zone over syria? >> no, i think you have to make these decisions on a case-by- case basis. i don't think the united states ought to be militarily involved in syria at all. and i think that... i think it would be unlikely that any other country would want to take that on, either. >> couric: gates said certain also a huge concern for the u.s. in that "60 minutes" interview he called the iranians "trouble makers" for trying to exploit the revolutions in the region.

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when "60 minutes" started in 1968, joe woersha as the one of the six oshlgnal producers. he was already a legend here at cbs, bets known for his work on edward r. murrow's "see it now" segments that exposed joseph mccarthy's twist witch-hunt in the 1950s. actor robert downey, jr., portrayed him in the movie "good night and good luck." he spent 20 years producing emmy award winning pieces for "60 minutes" before retiring in 1988. he died over the weekend. he was 90. coming up next on the "cbs evening news," diverting the floods. the cities are safe but now the water is heading for the heart of cajun country. eekend. he was 90. coming up next on the "cbs evening news," diverting the floods. the cities are safe but now the water is heading for the heart of cajun country.

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>> couric: much of the floodwater of the mississippi was diverted when the army corps of engineers opened two major spillways. that spared the big cities but it came at a cost to rural communities in the floodplain. dean reynolds is in amelia, louisiana, tonight. dean, a lot of water is headed in that direction. >> couric: to give you an idea of the power of the water coming out of that spillway, it could fill up an olympic swimming pool in less than a second. the spillway strategy designed

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to lesson the force of the mighty mississippi appears to be successful. >> the crests we thought we were going to have a couple days ago prior to opening up the morganza floodway has been reduced because of that operation. >> reporter: the river is now expected to reach a height of 45 feet in baton rouge on wednesday instead of the record 47.5 feet previously calculated. new orleans will top off at 17 feet and go no higher according to the national weather service. >> the corps continues to assure us there should be no flooding and the main line levees are projected to hold. >> reporter: the result was accomplished by opening even fewer gates of the spillway than anticipated. only 11 of 125 are open now. that means the low-lying less- populated areas in the path of the spillway tide will probably have more time to prepare for the water water's approach. so far, slower and shallower than once feared. >> you're still going to have thousands of homes underwater, millions of acres of water but

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certainly better news than what we were facing just as recently as this past weekend. >> reporter: in melville, louisiana, in the path of the floodwaters, roger harrington catches crawfish for a living-- or he did until the river ran too strong. >> too much current. too much current. i can't crawfish, i can't run hooks and lines or anything. got too much current and they ain't got no bank. >> reporter: he's just one of some 25,000 people who will be affected by the flooding that will inundate their towns and homes to save the big cities and homes of many thousands more. katie? >> couric: dean reynolds, dean, thanks very much.çó jerry lewis has hosted the muscular dystrophy telethon for 45 years, raising $2.5 billion. today he said the next one on labor day will be his last. lewis who's 85 will continue as national chairman of m.d.a. when we come back, it's the biggest case for l.a. detectives.

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on zyrtec® products at zyrtectv.com. >> couric: detectives in los angeles have tracked down hundreds of leads in the beating of a san francisco giants fan outside dodger stadium but so far no arrest. as bill whitaker reports, the victim still faces a long recovery. >> reporter: 46 days after being beaten nearly to death at the l.a. dodgers opening game. 42-year-old brian stowe was

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transferred today from a critical care unit in los angeles by ambulance, by plane, to san francisco general. his mother says the father of two and avid san francisco giants fan remains in a coma- like state. >> people in that state can open their eyes, they have movement but they don't know how much of that is brian doing it on his own. it's just his body response. >> reporter: the response of the l.a.p.d. has been massive. despite 17 detectives working full time plastering the city with 300 of these billboards, a $100,000 reward, they still haven't apprehended the two assailants they say beat stowe simply because he was wearing a giants jersey. as of today, the l.a.p.d. has received 461 tips. detectives have investigated every one of them and they're now focused on two which they consider most promising. so right now you've... you need

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a lucky break >> we need a break. we need that one phone call, that one person out there who knows what this suspect. that's how we we're going to solve this case. >> reporter: stowe says the family has complete faith in the l.a.p.d.. >> they say if you don't catch them within those first 48 hours it gets hard. >> reporter: as for bryan stowe, his recovery will be hard and for now uncertain. bill whitaker, cbs news, los angeles. >> couric: and coming up next, the promise she carried with her for 38 years. night shipping. that must cost a fortune. it sure does. well, if it doesn't have to get there overnight, you can save a lot with priority mail flat rate envelopes. one flat rate to any state, just $4.95. that's cool and all... but it ain't my money. i seriously do not care... so, you don't care what anyone says, you want to save this company money!

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the treatment that may have worked next on cbs 5 >> couric: finally tonight. nearly 40 years ago a young girl made a progress to a soldier she'd never met to keep a vigil for him until the day he came home from the war. in tonight's "assignment america," steve hartman reports that day has come. >> couric: this weekend in alabama, closure came in a flag- draped casket. after 43 years missing in vietnam, the recently identified remains of an army green beret sergeant first class finally made it home. >> we thank you today, lord, that james leslie moreland has returned to the land where he came from.

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>> reporter: the service marked the end of four decades of uncertainty for moreland's friends, family, and this one totally devoted total stranger who, although she never knew moreland never forgot him, either. >> i made a promise and i wanted to keep it. >> reporter: it was a promise she made to him christmas day, 1972 when then 12-year-old kathy strong got a metal bracelet in her stocking. it was one of those p.o.w./m.i.a. bracelets. they were a big add in in the '70s. each bore the name of a soldier who was either still a prisoner in vietnam or missing in action. the idea was to wear the bracelet until your guy came home. >> it was 1976. >> reporter: it was a commitment kathy took more seriously than most as her photos can attest. long after the other kids had moved on to bell bottoms and moon rooks. >> 2001, camping. >> reporter: kathy was still wearing her bracelet. in fact, when we first met her in march, there it was. same placed the been every

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second of everyday for 38 years. never has been off? >> nope. had an m.r.i., had to keep my arm out of the machine. that was difficult. >> couric: she was determined to only take it off for him. >> well, back in the day they showed soldiers coming off the plains and i always thought i'll be there and give him my bracelet and have him put it on his arm. that's how i always pictured it. but that wasn't meant to be. >> reporter: over the years kathy has really gotten to know james moreland through his two surviving sisters who invited kathy to sit with them. at the funeral, kathy also got special recognition from colonel paul longgrear, moreland's commanding officer and perhaps kathy's biggest fan. >> this is a quality that we just don't hardly find in america anymore. a commitment to her word even though she was a child. >> reporter: for too many of us, supporting the troops is nothing but lip service.

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patriotism nothing but what we wear on our sleeve. but with her bracelet, kathy has shown us what being a truly proud american truly entails. and, as for that bracelet, kathy did with it what she always said she would. the morning before the funeral she took it off and slipped it on the sleeve of his uniform. >> it's going to be hard. it's going to take some getting used to. but i've come to learn that whether i'm wearing his bracelet or not he'll always be with me everyday of my life. >> couric: steve hartman, cbs news, here in pelham, alabama. >> couric: thank you, steve, for kathy's story and for everything. that is the "cbs evening news" for tonight. i'm katie thank you for watching. see you back here tomorrow. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org access.wgbh.org

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california's broken budget. . >> you're watching cbs 5 eyewitness news in high definition. [ music ] >> all new at 6:00 tonight governor brown takes another crack at california's broken budget. what it means for your taxes and your child's education. >> i think it might be nearly our entire budget for those in the general burned. >> san jose's budget problems are going up in smoke. how much money the city collected on marijuana in just one month. and how that pay-off could mean big changes for pot policy. leukemia and aids. >> right. >> gone? >> right. >> cured? >> yeah. >> a man who just might hold the secret to a cure. our exclusive conversations with the berlin dr. >> i'm